Coaxing art from a lump of snow

With Super Bowl LII fast approaching, here’s a little aside for the amateurs on hand in Minneapolis.

It’s all unfolding at the State Fairgrounds where some promising rookies are having their skills put to the test at building snowmen.

We’ve spoken with some of the experts in the field of ice carving over the past few days but Saturday brought the chance for some budding talent to rise to the frozen surface.

They start with a 4x4x6 block of raw material that we artistically-challenged types know as snow. It’s a lot like those plow droppings that wind up at the end of your driveway after the road crews clear your street.

We spoke with a couple of the contestants who told us their campaign began with a trip to the garage to gather tools. “We just grabbed everything. Anything sharp, anything metal.”

It didn’t stop there. “We have a melon baller, some saws, a car scraper,” and a brush for those fine, finishing details.

Then came the clay model. Dreams need a blueprint.

Nature supplied a little fresh snow and a liberal dose of cold. Organizers supplied eight hours for the contestants to cobble together their snow art.